--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Poems are not for explaining,\" she said…" description: "\"“Poems are not for explaining,\" she said, her tone as bored and faintly scornful as his. \"They are for pretty girls to read aloud. Everyone knows that...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70c/emily-horner-49209_poems_poems-are-not-for-explaining-she-said-he_2562961.jpg" --- # Poems are not for explaining," she said, her tone as bored… ![“Poems are not for explaining," she said, her tone as bored and faintly scornful as his. "They are for pretty girls to read aloud. Everyone knows that.” quote by Emily Horner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70c/emily-horner-49209_poems_poems-are-not-for-explaining-she-said-he_2562961.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70c/emily-horner-49209_poems_poems-are-not-for-explaining-she-said-he_2562961.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70c/emily-horner-49209_poems_poems-are-not-for-explaining-she-said-he_2562961.jpg) > ““Poems are not for explaining," she said, her tone as bored and faintly scornful as his. "They are for pretty girls to read aloud. Everyone knows that.”” [Emily Horner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-horner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Poetry is meant to be experienced emotionally, not analytically, and is often dismissed as frivolous. **In simple terms:** Poems are for feeling, not explaining. Key Takeaway Enjoy poetry without over‑analysis. Themes art literature emotion gender perception Mood thoughtful reflective Type literary observational When to use this quote - reading poetry aloud - teaching literature - discussing art in class - personal reflection on poetry Key Concepts aesthetic experience subjectivity cultural bias Questions to Reflect On - How does analyzing poetry change its impact? - Why are certain audiences labeled “pretty girls” for reading poetry? A Different Perspective Some argue poetry can be critically examined for deeper meaning. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Poems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poems/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Pretty girls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pretty-girls/) ## Related quotes > [Teach girls to read and to work at something where they can bring home money - and the entire balance of power shifts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-fonda/teach-girls-to-read-and-to-work-at-something-where-they-can-bring/) [Jane Fonda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-fonda/) > [I do feel that the boys are getting left out. Girls will read boys' books, but boys won't read girls' books. If you're writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-e-hinton/i-do-feel-that-the-boys-are-getting-left-out-girls-will-read-boys/) [S. E. Hinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-e-hinton/) > [I hope girls read what I say in interviews - they should just be themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-momsen/i-hope-girls-read-what-i-say-in-interviews-they-should-just-be/) [Taylor Momsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-momsen/) > [“I should have never taught you girls to read! I suspect you have been reading the Bible behind my back-that is enough to fill…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-fortier/i-should-have-never-taught-you-girls-to-read-i-suspect-you-have-been/) [Anne Fortier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-fortier/) > [“Thanks to you guys and girls who read my stuff, too. May you have long days and pleasant nights.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/thanks-to-you-guys-and-girls-who-read-my-stuff-too-may-you-have-long/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Read it all then jus the red only girls read the red](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/read-it-all-then-jus-the-red-only-girls-read-the-red/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Teenage girls read in packs. It's true today, and it was true when I was a teen growing up in a small town in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ally-carter/teenage-girls-read-in-packs-it-s-true-today-and-it-was-true-when-i/) [Ally Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ally-carter/) > [“You should date a girl who reads. Date a girl who reads. Date a girl who spends her money on books instead of clothes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-should-date-a-girl-who-reads-date-a-girl-who-reads-date-a-girl/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I wonder what its like to be one of the pretty girls that every guy wants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-wonder-what-its-like-to-be-one-of-the-pretty-girls-that-every-guy/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Pretty girls behave best when you ignore them. Of course, they have to know you are ignoring them, for otherwise they may not even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chetan-bhagat/pretty-girls-behave-best-when-you-ignore-them-of-course-they-have-to/) [Chetan Bhagat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chetan-bhagat/) > [“As far as I could tell, he earned his hundred thousand a year by wandering the hallway with a Styrofoam cup of coffee, smiling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-perrotta/as-far-as-i-could-tell-he-earned-his-hundred-thousand-a-year-by/) [Tom Perrotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-perrotta/) > [All the really pretty girls get pregnant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-hoppus/all-the-really-pretty-girls-get-pregnant/) [Mark Hoppus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-hoppus/) > [“Pretty girls lie at the centre of straight culture, dyke culture, fag culture. They sell everything, they buy everything, they ruin great men and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/pretty-girls-lie-at-the-centre-of-straight-culture-dyke-culture-fag/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [Let's face it, most pretty girls aren't funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-gordon-levitt/let-s-face-it-most-pretty-girls-aren-t-funny/) [Joseph Gordon-Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-gordon-levitt/) > [With 'Pretty Girls,' I saw the opportunity to talk not just about crime but what crime leaves behind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/with-pretty-girls-i-saw-the-opportunity-to-talk-not-just-about-crime/) [Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/) ## More by Emily Horner > [“I sat there in the darkness, with their skin clsoe to me, and I felt lifted up and wrapped with kindness. And very small,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-horner/i-sat-there-in-the-darkness-with-their-skin-clsoe-to-me-and-i-felt/) [Emily Horner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-horner/) > [“There was this girl,” I said. "l mean-” All of a sudden I felt flustered, and added, ”We were just friends.” ”No such thing.”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-horner/there-was-this-girl-i-said-l-mean-all-of-a-sudden-i-felt-flustered/) [Emily Horner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-horner/) > [“We'd been twelve years old together. We'd shared the convictions that only twelve year olds can share, that love is simple and powerful and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-horner/we-d-been-twelve-years-old-together-we-d-shared-the-convictions-that/) [Emily Horner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-horner/) > [“Didn't anyone ever teach you that it's easier to ask forgiveness than permission?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-horner/didn-t-anyone-ever-teach-you-that-it-s-easier-to-ask-forgiveness-than/) [Emily Horner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-horner/) > [“I was one of those people who stumbled into things, who followed whims and took side roads, instead of finding some goal to pursue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-horner/i-was-one-of-those-people-who-stumbled-into-things-who-followed-whims/) [Emily Horner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-horner/) > [“Not Pining," she admitted. "But I look at you and you're so...Awkward, and scruffy, and fearless, and just so intensely yourself, and I remember…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-horner/not-pining-she-admitted-but-i-look-at-you-and-you-re-so-awkward-and/) [Emily Horner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-horner/) [Explore all 7 Emily Horner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-horner/) ## More Poems quotes > [“Without pain, poetry is not possible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seerat/without-pain-poetry-is-not-possible/) seerat > [Are you scumming me? This is flipping bumbus. Koo koo kachu. I'll eat your body and throw you in a flipping zoo. ~Poems by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-campbell/are-you-scumming-me-this-is-flipping-bumbus-koo-koo-kachu-i-ll-eat/) Grant Campbell > [“It was her chaos that made her beautiful. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atticus-poetry/it-was-her-chaos-that-made-her-beautiful/) [Atticus Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atticus-poetry/) > [“She conquered her demons and wore her scars like wings. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atticus-poetry/she-conquered-her-demons-and-wore-her-scars-like-wings/) [Atticus Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atticus-poetry/) > [ “\[poems are\] crystals deposited after the effervescent contact of the spirit with reality. (cristaux deposes apres l'effervescent contact de l'esprit avec la realite)” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-reverdy/poems-are-crystals-deposited-after-the-effervescent-contact-of-the/) [Pierre Reverdy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-reverdy/) > [Poems come from ordinary experiences and objects, I think. Out of memory - a dress I lent my daughter on her way back to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/poems-come-from-ordinary-experiences-and-objects-i-think-out-of/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [Poetry is a lousy form of activism; it doesn't really change much. And maybe we can point to one or two historical times when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-gottlieb/poetry-is-a-lousy-form-of-activism-it-doesn-t-really-change-much-and/) [Daphne Gottlieb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-gottlieb/) > [Precise, graceful, and generous, the poems in SuperLoop, seem to be born out of a deep, careful attention and a profound compassion. Sometimes the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ada-limon/precise-graceful-and-generous-the-poems-in-superloop-seem-to-be-born/) [Ada Limon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ada-limon/) > [“Lies made it arduous to find a coffin that fit”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-carl-evans/lies-made-it-arduous-to-find-a-coffin-that-fit/) Richard Carl Evans > [To realise belatedly that there are Swahili epic poems which rival their European equivalents for sweep and power has been exciting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-foden/to-realise-belatedly-that-there-are-swahili-epic-poems-which-rival/) [Giles Foden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-foden/) > [“She (my mother) could still recite them (the poems) in full when she was lying helpless and nearly blind, in her bed, an old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/she-my-mother-could-still-recite-them-the-poems-in-full-when-she-was/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [I can't lie. Even if they think I'm wrong. Even if they don't understand. Even if they think I'm crazy. I'm me. They're supposed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-can-t-lie-even-if-they-think-i-m-wrong-even-if-they-don-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Smuggling poems out of prison in the soles of mt shoes i'm way past finding salvation in the arms of a woman, I look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raegan-butcher/smuggling-poems-out-of-prison-in-the-soles-of-mt-shoes-i-m-way-past/) [Raegan Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raegan-butcher/) > [I like having a phrase lying around to get poems started. It's like having a key.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-mccrae/i-like-having-a-phrase-lying-around-to-get-poems-started-it-s-like/) [Shane McCrae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-mccrae/) > [“A thousand years or more ago, When I was newly sewn, There lived four wizards of renown, Whose name are still well-known: Bold Gryffindor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jk-rowling/a-thousand-years-or-more-ago-when-i-was-newly-sewn-there-lived-four/) [JK Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jk-rowling/) [Browse all 1,172 Poems quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poems/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Poems are not for explaining,\" she said, her tone as bored and faintly scornful as his. \"They are for pretty girls to read aloud. Everyone knows that.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Emily Horner" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-horner/poems-are-not-for-explaining-she-said-her-tone-as-bored-and-faintly/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Poems" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-horner/poems-are-not-for-explaining-she-said-her-tone-as-bored-and-faintly/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70c/emily-horner-49209_poems_poems-are-not-for-explaining-she-said-he_2562961.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70c/emily-horner-49209_poems_poems-are-not-for-explaining-she-said-he_2562961.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70c/emily-horner-49209_poems_poems-are-not-for-explaining-she-said-he_2562961.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Poems are not for explaining,\" she said, her tone as bored and faintly scornful as his. \"They are for pretty…” — Emily Horner", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Emily Horner", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-horner/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Poems are not for explaining,\" she...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-horner/poems-are-not-for-explaining-she-said-her-tone-as-bored-and-faintly/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-horner/poems-are-not-for-explaining-she-said-her-tone-as-bored-and-faintly/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```